"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
What we can do over her for over there & The correct mindset for collaboration
As I was doing my intuitive webhopping - different from surfing because I hop from one place to the next, not knowing where my info journey will take me - I re-visited a new blog I am subscribing to "No Impact Man" - Colin Beavan. Bevan is a leading an educational crusade teaching people living in over-developed countries such as the U.S. to live low or no impact environmentally so that we don't continue to hog all the resources of the world. This is how OUR actions, each and every one of us, can directly effect the world at large. He wrote a book - NO Impact Man, and he and his family are the subjects of a film of the same name. Both the book and the film doc**ent " A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, and generally becomes a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons–loving wife along for the ride. And that’s just the beginning. Bill McKibben meets Bill Bryson in this seriously engaging look at one man’s decision to put his money where his mouth is and go off the grid for one year—while still living in New York City—to see if it’s possible to make no net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no air-conditioning, no television . . ."
I am following him - http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog
and I am following Julia Butterfly Hill - who over 10 years ago was part of a years long project to protect old growth Redwoods from being cut down from lumber. In this action, she ended up living in "Luna" a 1500 year old tree for 738 days, over two years. From this experience and other actions, she continued on with environmental activism but became an inspirational speaker/educator - specializing in teaching people how to realize their own potential as conscientious activists, and how to work toward radical change without creating adversaries. I think her most powerful message is how one needs to be connected to your own humanity as well as to others when you are working for change. If you come in with hostility, you leave with hostility. She is incredibly well-spoken and she walks her talk and does her best to communicate effectively to everyone involved with situations that she is addressing. So often activists come in with an antagonistic or righteous or elitist attitude toward people. This is one of the main reasons, I have avoided getting involved in activism - because I can't stomach the social animosity that occurs even between group members, let alone outsiders - this social animosity, I see as totally counter-productive, and totally frustrating.
Right now, on her blog, she mainly is giving inspirational advice that nourishes people individually - which is good to read from someone who could see the world as an increasingly bleak place - but she doesn't - she shares an attitude of active hope and this is very refreshing! Here's her blog -
Ciao,
Liza
Views: 10
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Comment by Raymond M. Kristiansen on March 7, 2010 at 6:43pm
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Self-righteous and elitists activists - - - geez, I can't stomach them. It is a form of extremism, which is bad in my book, no matter if its a case of religion, atheism, or a worthy cause. And yet, of course people need to make their point, and sometimes it's hard in terms of group psychology to keep the 'glue' between the members, if there is not a strong "us vs. them" approach to it. We are the chosen ones-kind of rhetoric. But I prefer if groups didn't need that. Didn't need all this self-righteousness and elitism. Didn't need to have this air of eternal arrogance when talking with others of another opinino. The young woman or man who, when hearing that someone else actually flew to a conference, goes "you flew?!?!". The one who posts pictures of war or famine without offering context, just pointing out the social pornography of it "Look! Someone is hurting! How can you eat your food while looking at this starving child's eyes?"
I don't know what the solution is. One of my keys is humility. That we are more humble, and more interested in really discussing with others. To learn from each others' perspective.
It's a complex issue and I am certainly not saying that there are any 'quick fixes'. But yes, its an important discussion.
I haven't read the "No Impact Man" book - is it good? I will follow these links, thank you! :)
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Comment by Liza Davis on March 7, 2010 at 6:51pm
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About the wh*** elitist activists - I think it often has to do about how we feel about ourselves - sometimes people go into activism with a silent agenda of making themselves feel like a good person - when they actually don't believe they are unless they do something. I have to admit, I have been there at times.
Just discovered the "No Impact Man" book, myself ... I think the best I can do on short notice is see if the movie is out on DVD - the previews look pretty entertaining.
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Comment by Thom on March 7, 2010 at 7:28pm
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Hmm, perhaps the self-righteousness also has to do with what each of us expects, the filters we have on that helps us to identify and interpret self-righteousness, among other characteristics.
I've been noticing frustration seems to be underneath it quite often. What appears to be arrogance or even boasting is a superficial layer, one expressing relief, of making headway beyond their frustration of not knowing what to do or feeling restrained. There's that feeling of being trapped or chained to their usual day-in-day-out living deep down inside.
Either breaking free or becoming aware of someone else who was in a similar situation can lead to sudden outbursts of elation or matter-of-factly offering unasked advice. When I look at it this way, I realize what appears to be an undesirable expression has more to do with experiencing sudden epiphanies and relief or maybe having little practice of expressing achievement less energetically.
In essence, a person experiencing that is full of energy and inspired, overwhelmingly so to the point of not coordinating their enthusiasm in a calm and collected manner. I can't really fault such displays of excitement anymore, now that I realize they are experiencing and learning something new that has broken them out of their cage. It helps I've been able to relate to such moments myself at various times.
What to do with such situations when we encounter them in someone else is also part of our own accountability. That's because we are witnessing it and are there, and likely it's something new for us having been surrounded by people who feel too suppressed by their own thoughts to try anything new. In a way, it's easy to feel resentment that someone would succeed where we could only dream, especially when they are so outspoken about their progress and we might still feel incapable to follow along.
I think we all experience it at various times within ourselves, and it's a valuable resource of energy to channel and shape. So, I think of the ways for other people to not be self-righteous is for the persons nearby to not label them that way so firmly and to be open in sharing the moment of energy with them. Such conversations don't always end with a balanced sense of energy, but it's a start towards further meetings with people who are sincerely interested and strongly motivated. Given the chance for personal refinement and being a part of their experience are a couple of valuable points of assistance that we can give each other no matter how shockingly exuberant someone (even ourselves) may come across.
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Interesting points you make. I have to agree, that often this attitude comes from frustrated energy and a desire to push things through. When I mention vaguely past negative experiences with activism, it isn't that I have experienced personally these attitudes toward me, but rather toward others within the group or of a general attitude toward people that the actions might be addressed toward. For instance, if you want to change public policy, you don't speak to politicians or their supporters as if they are idiots. Sure, one can let off steam behind the scenes but in the long run - creating adversaries is counterproductive to progress. I am fascinated by group dynamics and I really appreciate your insights : )
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Comment by Jenn on March 8, 2010 at 5:53pm
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Thanks so much for posting this, Liza. I didn't know that Julia had a blog and I'm excited to read it. My favorite insight from her writing is when she talks about giving in and surrendering to the wind storms she experienced while in Luna rather than fighting them. I love that it's applicable to so many different situations.
Thom, (speaking as someone who formerly suffered a touch of the self-righteous in college) I think you've hit the nail on the head for a lot of people and I really admire your way of dealing with them. And I agree with Liza that it also has a lot to do with how we feel about ourselves; acceptance and a nonjudgmental attitude go a long way.
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